Meet a Veteran: Killingly High School Assistant Principal Mike Devine

Friday

Dec 27, 2013 at 3:52 PMDec 27, 2013 at 3:52 PM

By John Penney

In the service: Pawcatuck resident and Killingly High School Assistant Principal Mike Devine, 64, enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1969 at age 19. “I got sick and tired of waiting for my draft number to drop,” he said. After basic training and infantry school, Devine was assigned to the 1st Air Calvary Division and shipped to Vietnam. His unit was stationed west of Saigon, near the Ho Chi Minh trail. Devine and his fellow soldiers routinely air assaulted from helicopters into the jungle, spending 30 days at a time laying ambushes and conducting search-and-destroy patrols. Once enemy troops were spotted, Devine’s company was flown into clearings and dropped into rice paddies or other open spots. The men cleared bunkers and complexes, slept in foxholes and watched and responded to enemy activity through platoon-sized patrols. Devine was initially charged with manning a .60-caliber machine gun, and then a buckshot-loaded grenade launcher. He was later the platoon’s radio operator, a job he also did at the company and battalion level. For his work, Devine was awarded the Bronze Star, for valor in the face of the enemy. He also was awarded two Army Commendation Medals and an Air Medal for conducting 25 air assaults.

After the service: After being honorably discharged as a sergeant in 1970, Devine lived in the Vermont mountains for a time before enrolling at UConn’s Avery Point campus. After a few semesters, Devine embarked on a tour of Europe and the Middle East. “I had $1,000 and spent six months in Third World countries, working to settle my mind,” he said. “I trekked through Calcutta, India, Nepal and the Himalayas.” Soon after, Devine, married and looking for a “more cerebral” experience, enrolled at Mohegan Community College and transferred to UConn and then Central Connecticut State University, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Devine taught for 10 years and then earned his six-year certification in administration. In 2004, he was hired as Killingly High School’s assistant principal.

Quote: “I’m very proud of my time in the service and look back on it fondly. It gave me a clearer perspective on the geopolitical realities at a time when Marxist expansion was on the rise in that part of the globe. Even though Vietnam might not be seen as a clear-cut victory, the fact that we went and bellied up is important. Compared to a lot of schools in the Eastern Connecticut Conference, Killingly has a high percentage of students go into the military — they provide a huge contribution. I have kids that come into my office, where I have my medals and replica of a Huey helicopter, and they get very interested.”